25+ Peter Breggin Quotes (Empathetic, Radical And Activist)

Peter Breggin is an American psychiatrist who is known for his work in the field of psychopharmacology and his criticism of traditional psychiatric practices. He has written extensively on the subject of psychiatric drugs and their side effects, and has been an advocate for the use of alternative treatments. He is the founder of the Center for the Study of Empathic Therapy, Education and Living.

Top 10 Peter Breggin Quotes

1. Going to a psychiatrist has become one of the most dangerous things a person can do.
2. The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.
3. I think that one of the things that has happened is that psychiatry has become the religion of liberalism.
4. In reality, psychiatric diagnosing is a kind of spiritual profiling that can destroy lives and frequently does.
5. [Our children] have been taken away from us by the psychiatric mental-health system. They've been taken away by the educational system, by the government, and by many different forces.
6. I come from a liberal tradition. I'm Jewish. My dad was a liberal. What I've found is that people who see themselves as thoughtful, caring, educated and informed have swallowed psychiatry as the way.
7. Hillary [Clinton] even said that, whether or not teenagers want treatment, they have to get it. So it's involuntary treatment.
8. [ Alfred Kinsey] was sexually abusing those children and had sex abusers working for him to stimulate the babies.
9. Only in psychiatry is the existence of physical disease determined by APA presidential proclamations, by committee decisions, and even, by a vote of the members of APA, not to mention the courts.
10. Parents must refuse to cooperate with any psychological evaluation of their children in school.

Peter Breggin Famous Quotes And Sayings

Advocates of psychiatric drugs often claim that the medications improve learning and the ability to benefit from psychotherapy, but the contrary is true. There are no drugs that improve mental function, self-understanding, or human relations. Any drug that affects mental processes does so by impairing them. — Peter Breggin

There is nothing worse that you can do to a human being in America today than give them a mental illness kind of label and tell them they need drugs and these children are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years-old being treated in this manner. — Peter Breggin

The destructive impact of psychiatry upon our civilization has been given far too little attention, and the role of psychiatry in Nazi Germany almost no attention. It is entirely possible that without psychiatry the holocaust could never have taken place. — Peter Breggin

In some cases it is identical because methamphetamine is one of the F.D.A. drugs allowed for children. The three basic stimulants now are amphetamine, methamphetamine, and then Ritalin, which are all in the same class and Schedule Two drugs along with cocaine, the most addictive drug as recognized by all the world's drug agencies. — Peter Breggin

In part I'm just mystified. Here's a woman, Hillary [Clinton], who wrote a book about it takes a "village" to raise children. It wasn't about a book about "it takes a pill." There's a "double think" that the modern person often has. Anything that's called "science" is accepted as an absolute and sweeps reason away. — Peter Breggin

The man Hillary [Clinton] introduced at the meeting goes so far as to say that no amount of trauma to children - or poor parenting or anything in their lives - causes them mental disorders. He says it's all biological and genetic and should be treated by drugs. — Peter Breggin

The N.I.M.H. spent multi-millions of dollars on [Ritalin studies], and they're going to do the same thing now with little kids. And despite the millions spent, the N.I.M.H. study wasn't even conducted according to accepted scientific procedures and is basically worthless. — Peter Breggin

Following the school shootings, Hillary and Tipper Gore, as well as their husbands, got together for the first White House conference on mental health. Because of her interest in mental health and her own problem with anti-depressants, Tipper had been made the expert, the psychiatric consultant to the president, duly designated. — Peter Breggin

What a pleasure to hear Michael Savage backtalk to Hillary [Clinton]. You know, there is such hypocrisy with her. I didn't start out as a Clinton basher; I started out hopeful years ago. What she's doing here is merely damage control because her drugs have come under criticism. — Peter Breggin

I think the first thing parents need to start doing is absolutely refuse to cooperate with any psychological evaluation of children in school. Schools should not be mental hospitals. Parents should say that the only tests they want their children to have are those respecting their academic subjects and nothing else. — Peter Breggin

I would like to write my next book about what happened to critical intelligence in America and how it's been undermined by these really shallow ideas about human life and nature. — Peter Breggin

[Hillary Clinton] is giving money to N.I.M.H. [National Institute for Mental Health] ultimately to conduct more experiments on two- to four-year-olds. What they're going to do is conduct a lot of clinical studies which actually drug two- to four-year-olds. — Peter Breggin

I think that's a major reason. Instead of turning in their own lives to philosophy, religion, love, family life, or nature, they think of psychiatry; and today that means the "pill" as an ultimate answer. Also, if you have a desire for social control, "benevolent" control and "benevolent" authority, then again biological psychiatry offers a tremendous opportunity. — Peter Breggin

Love is the most ethically consistent experience, because selfishness and altruism no longer seem opposed or in conflict. — Peter Breggin

Romantic love is sexually passionate love. Romance uses sexual intimacy to create or amplify closeness and mutual fulfillment. — Peter Breggin

Life Lessons by Peter Breggin

1. Peter Breggin's work emphasizes the importance of holistic approaches to mental health, such as considering the physical and emotional needs of individuals, rather than relying solely on medication.
2. He also advocates for informed consent, meaning that individuals should be aware of the risks and benefits of any treatments they receive.
3. Lastly, Breggin emphasizes the power of meaningful relationships and the need for compassion and empathy in mental health care.